Adolf & Louise Schwenk pottery mug, ht. 6-1/4″ – Schwenk Pottery, Penticton, British Columbia. coll.#70
In the later 1950s, Louise Bowman Schwenk took a class from pottery instructor Reg Dixon. The next year she attended the Vancouver School of Art with her husband, Adolf Schwenk, a painter. Afterward, Louise and Adolf took their expertise back to their log cabin near Penticton, and making use of the local clay, they built up a successful pottery. Louise was the thrower and Adolf the painter. Their work was exhibited across Canada and in 1966 they were awarded a year of study in Europe by the Canada Arts Council. Louise tragically passed away while visiting the Leach pottery in England. [Information extracted from “Origins of a Ceramic Culture: The First Fifty Years of the BC Potters Guild 1955 – 2005” by Debra Sloan.]